The Beginning of the End
by Caelestis Amor
Summary: Snape reveals information on a Horcux — that belongs to Dumbledore! What will Harry think when he discovers that a piece of Dumbledore still exists on this world? One-Shot. Post-HBP, Pre-DH.


**Title: ****The Beginning of the End****  
Author:** Caelestis Amor**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters mentioned in this narrative. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The theory of Dumbledore having a Horcrux in this story is from an article by Jan-Marie Spanard.**  
****Summary:** Snape reveals information on a Horcux... that belongs to Dumbledore! What will Harry think when he discovers that a piece of Dumbledore still exists in this world? Written pre-DH.

On one dark, windy night, Severus Snape sat at his kitchen table, sipping a now cold cup of tea. He showcased the appearance of the classic villain, with his long, greasy hair, and clad in black robes like an overgrown bat. Silence filled the room, if not for the wind pounding against the window. Moments later, the window flew open, and a rush of cold air flew in, biting at his skin, furiously beating at the curtains. Setting his cup down, the ex-Hogwarts professor stood and moved toward the open window, shutting it with a loud "snap." When the window pushed against its barriers and burst open again, he glared at it and purposefully turned to close the window.

But yet again, the window released itself, and the cycle continued persistently until Snape just gave up and returned to his tea, hoping for what little peace he'd had before. Instantly, however, a knock resounded from the door. Sighing dejectedly, he rose to his feet to answer the door. He soon found that his efforts were wasted when the door clicked as it unlocked and then swung open. Snape glowered at the doorway and extracted his wand from his robes, prepared to hex the intruder into oblivion. Alas, Voldemort, the Dark Lord stood before him, and the Death Eater bowed low, his forehead almost touching the floor.

"Master…" he uttered softly. Voldemort gestured for him to rise, although he kept his head lowered in submission. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Ah, Severus… You should know better than to question me," he warned, reveling in the subtle look of horror on his servant's face, "but you have earned the right to know why I'm here." Snape kept silent as his master continued, "I have received word from one of my spies that Harry Potter will appear at Knockturn Alley on the twenty-second of August. Where in Knockturn Alley do you suppose he would be?"

"Borgin and Burkes, my Lord," Snape murmured. "He and two other students were sighted spying on the young Malfoy, last summer. I believe he returned to search for something that is of great importance to you."

"Might it pertain to my Horcrux, Severus?" he asked, to which he received a small nod. "Well then, it seems as though we must intercept him, now doesn't it?"

"Yes, my Lord," he affirmed, "and may I inquire as to which Horcrux he now seeks?"

"Hufflepuff's cup," Voldemort answered. "Potter is clever, very clever…"

"I am surprised that he has gotten this far," Snape added.

"Do not underestimate this boy… I have done so repeatedly, but time after time, he has triumphed."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Now, you must prepare to depart on the twenty-second. Remember that, Severus. You must not fail me," he demanded.

"Yes, my Lord." And when he tilted his head up, Lord Voldemort had disappeared, having Apparated.

Once he was sure that Voldemort wasn't there anymore, Snape shook his head feverishly, trying to clear away the aftermath of being face to face with the Dark Lord. He approached his fireplace on the opposite side of the room, lit a fire, and snatched up a handful of Floo powder, throwing it into the fireplace.

"Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" he called into the fire.

Several turned heads greeted him at arrival, and their faces changed rapidly from blank stares to confused expressions and, finally, to rage.

"YOU!" they cried simultaneously. Suddenly, Snape found himself knocked off his feet, and he landed hard on his back with a small "oof." Though he tried to see who had attacked him, he was blocked by a wand in his face, joined by many others. As he rose to his feet, the wands followed his every move. Instinctively, he put his hands where they could see them, to show them that he was not going to make a move for his wand. The wands hesitated at first but then slowly lowered slightly.

"What are you doing here?" a cold voice demanded. Snape turned toward the direction of the voice, and who else had he seen but Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived. His icy green eyes glared at him with such a flurry of emotions that he could not read the boy's feelings through them. Dark, messy hair partially covered the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead, and for a second, Snape thought it began to flash in the dim lighting of the room.

However, Snape had busied himself so much by staring at the scar that he had not realized that he had yet to answer Harry's question. So, Harry repeated more firmly, "I asked you a question, Snape. What are you doing here?"

"I came here to warn you."

Harry scoffed, and replied bitterly, "Warn me? Well, I wish you would've warned me before you killed Dumbledore!"

Snape's face fell into his hand as he became greatly distressed, quite unlike him. "That was all part of the plan!"

"Yeah, the Death Eaters' plan!"

"No! Dumbledore was already dying when I killed him; in truth, he chose his own method of death. Though his body may exist no longer, a part of his soul still remains in this world."

Snape could tell that his words hit home when Harry's eyes---as well as Ron's and Hermione's, whom stood in the circle that surrounded Snape---widened at the new revelation. "Y-You mean..." Harry stumbled over the words, "... that Dumbledore... has... He has a... a... Horcrux?"

He nodded, and without waiting for Harry to ask how, he went ahead and answered, "In the year 1945, Dumbledore defeated a dark wizard named Grindlewald, and... knowing that he had to kill him in order to do so, he took advantage of the situation and created a Horcrux."

"How do you know this? What is his Horcrux?" Harry questioned, almost forgetting his hatred for Snape at the hope of finding Dumbledore's Horcrux.

"I would not have agreed to kill Dumbledore, had I known that he would cease to exist forever. We had an argument about that until he finally told me of his secret."

"So that's the argument Hagrid told us about!" Ron blurted. Hermione made a violent gesture told him, and he said no more. Snape, however, read his thoughts with Legilimens and discovered what Ron meant.

"Yes, indeed... And to answer your other question, I would believe that his Horcrux is none other than... Fawkes, the phoenix. You see, a phoenix never dies; they will simply continue to rise anew from the ashes, reborn to continue on."

Harry knew that was true, as he had witnessed the death and rebirth of Fawkes before. But, one problem still existed... "We don't know where Fawkes is. He flew off after Dumbledore died... and we haven't heard from him since."

"Well, I know a solution to that. Who did Dumbledore trust with his life (and probably his soul), and is an expert on Magical Creatures?"

Hermione was the first to answer in her usual know-it-all manner, "Why, Hagrid, of course!"

"With that in mind, who do you think would know how to find Fawkes, and thus, find the other half of Dumbledore's soul?"

"Hagrid!" Ron cried.

"Oh, hush, you sound like a cheerleader," Hermione chided.

"What in bloody hell is a cheerleader?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Never mind that. Now, tell us, is there anything else you might know about this Horcrux?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Snape answered truthfully. "Do you know where Hagrid is?" He wondered, because the last time he'd been at Hogwarts, a Death Eater had burnt his house down.

"I'm righ' here, I'll 'ave you know, Severus." Hagrid had appeared in front of the staircase, and then joined the circle, pointing his umbrella at Snape. The circle had to widen, however, because of Hagrid's large size.

"It's okay, Hagrid, Snape's good," Harry assured him, but to no avail.

"And how d'you know tha'? Tha's what Dumbledore thought, after all."

"I'm sure of it... He has some information about Dumbledore."

Though he lowered his wand, he did it grudgingly, and began swearing under his breath. He finally stopped cursing and inquired, "So, what 'as 'e got to say?"

"Dumbledore's got a Horcrux, and he thinks that it's Fawkes."

Hagrid looked astonished, but not entirely shocked, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been. "Now, how would 'e know abou' tha'?"

"Dumbledore told him. And we need to know where Fawkes is."

"All righ', then. There's only one way we can take care o' tha'." Hagrid pointed at Harry's wand that was still aimed at Snape, just in case. "Dumbledore was the only person tha' Fawkes would go to if 'e called 'is name. Other than tha', though, the only other thing Fawkes would go to is... the calling of his wand."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, yer wand's made outta 'is feather, ain't it?" When Harry nodded, Hagrid said, "Then, call 'im!"

"B-But... I don't know how! Is there a spell, or... or a charm?"

"Nope. Just wave yer wand wit' the intent to find 'im. He'll come to you. Trust me, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath, and after a swish of his wand, he waited... And nothing came. He tried again. A moment later, they heard a cry... of a phoenix! Red and gold wings fluttered through the air as Fawkes swooped down and landed on Harry's shoulder. Harry no longer looked at Fawkes as an ordinary phoenix, but now as a part of Dumbledore, or at least, holding a part of Dumbledore.

"It's all going to be all right, now," Harry whispered to himself. "It's all going to be okay. Because... Because Dumbledore's here... He's back. He's back."

And as suddenly as he came, Fawkes began to cry, and his tears shone as bright as the moon. Everyone knew the healing properties of a phoenix's tears, but this time, it would do more than heal; it would bring back life! The small droplets fell onto the carpeted floor, and slowly, the droplets began to form the shape of a body. Soon enough, the tears became Dumbledore's body, or at least, a vision of his body.

"Hello, Harry," Dumbledore greeted, as though he had never died. "How are you?"

Fawkes continued crying, but soon, he was not the only one. Harry had already begun to shed tears, just by seeing Dumbledore's face---the face he thought he'd never see again! Ron was gaping, and Hermione was beginning to cry, with a hand covering her mouth. However, Hagrid was bawling his eyes out at the sight of the old wizard.

"I... I'm fine," Harry replied, tears sliding silently down his face. "And you?"

"Doing quite well, thanks for asking." Harry smiled at this. "Now, I believe that I don't have much time. In fact, this version of me that you are witnessing only lasts until Fawkes stops crying." Harry now looked crestfallen. "Not to worry, not to worry. I will always come back when you need me."

"D-Dumbledore!" Hagrid cried.

"Oh, Hagrid... Don't cry, dear friend. You heard what I said to Harry; I'll be back!"

"I j-just... can't b-believe you're... you're alive!"

"Ah, but alas, that is where you are wrong. I am not alive, or at least, not body-wise. But when it comes to the soul, I shall always be here for you. After all, if I may quote myself, 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"

As Fawkes's tears began to weaken, Dumbledore bid his farewells. "I have enjoyed these few moments with you, but we all knew it would not last. Call upon Fawkes if you ever need me. Good night to you all!"

And with that, he was gone.

"Now all that's left of him is a wet spot on the carpet!" Ron complained.

Harry shook his head numbly, though he, too, was staring at the spot where Dumbledore had been. "No... We still have our memories of him, and we still have Fawkes... That's good enough to me." He then turned to Snape. "Thank you... for this..."

What came next was a moment no one could've ever predicted. Harry Potter hugged Snape. SNAPE! The greasy-haired man looked very uncomfortable, and patted the boy's back awkwardly. All other occupants of the room stood agape until Harry finally pushed away.

"I'm sorry about that, but... Dumbledore's back!" He turned to his friends and repeated, "Dumbledore's back!"

That moment sparked the beginning of the end of the reign of Voldemort. But they had Dumbledore back, and at the time, it mattered the whole world to them.


End file.
